Description of the Related Art
Cell death is an important aspect during the embryonic or post-natal development of major organ systems. Apoptosis, or programmed cell demise, also plays a critical role in maintaining homeostasis in many adult tissues. Within vertebrates, bcl-2 is the best understood gene in a cell death pathway and functions as a cell death repressor.
Apoptosis is a term used to refer to the process(es) of programmed cell death and has been described in several cell types (Waring et al. (1991) Med. Res. Rev. 11: 219; Williams G T (1991) Cell 65: 1097; Williams G T (1992) Trends Cell Biol. 2: 263; Yonisch-Rouach et al. (1991) Nature 352: 345). Apoptosis is likely involved in controlling the amount and distribution of certain differentiated cell types, such as lymphocytes and other cells of the hematopoietic lineage. The mechanism(s) by which apoptosis is produced in cells is incompletely understood, as are the regulatory pathways by which the induction of apoptosis occurs.